Two Rebecca Turner Academy students participating in My Brother’s Keeper Fellows Program

The My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) Fellows Program is continuing in the 2024-2025 school year with two students at Rebecca Turner Academy. Twelfth-grade students, Kevaughn Palmer and Mickel Williams, recently began participating in the MBK Fellows Program, which has a wide range of plans for the school year. MBK, created by President Barack Obama, began in Mount Vernon in 2016. Brother Arthur Muhammad, Youth Development Specialist, coordinates the program.

The fellows meet with other MBK members once a week for mastermind phone calls discussing their progress. Students started this year by reading the book “Madd Truth - Lasting Lessons for Students of Life.” MBK promotes literacy by selecting books that are interesting to the students and spark dialog, encouraging them to read. They will read three books throughout the year.

“I’m not really a reader to be honest, but this book I’ll sit down and read it and bring my attention to it,” said Kevaughn Palmer. 

When Kevaughn was at Graham School, he was first connected with Brother Muhammad during his visits to the school twice a month. He held meetings with the students at the school through MBK, which introduced the program to Kevaughn. 

Kevaughn has been in RTA since January of last year, and he has had a great experience in his new school. RTA supports its students socially and emotionally in a number of ways, including their student lounge open during lunch. Students have access to weights, equipment and a ping-pong table in this area, which can help them unwind during the day. MBK is another way that the school can help support students individually.

Mickel Williams was inducted into the MBK Fellows last year, and he is in his second year of the program.

“I joined My Brother’s Keeper to better myself as a young man growing up,” said Mickel. “I like the way they go about things and the ideology. I felt like it was a good path to go down in terms of bettering myself. It was very welcoming; it made you feel at home.”

He has also enjoyed reading the books through MBK because they provide lessons that apply to his own life. After a year in the program, he is excited to continue and see what else he will be able to gain from it. Mickel is also receiving mentoring from Eric Crump, City of Mount Vernon Director of Constituent Services. 

“I feel like personally it’s affected me in the way I talk, the way I act, the way I approach stuff and my maturity,” said Mickel.

One student at RTA shared that he had an interest in starting his own clothing line, and he is being connected with a mentor who agreed to support the student in achieving his dreams. 

Another student is interested in electrical engineering, and Brother Muhammad is working to connect him with an electrician for mentoring. Brother Muhammad’s goal is to connect every young man with an interest with someone in the community that can help that student accomplish their goals. 

“It’s always good to have people to support and basically guide you,” said Kevaughn.

Kevaughn is interested in working in the trucking industry, so he would like to get his commercial driving license to begin his career. Brother Muhammad will link him with someone in the trucking business to help him further his goals. This will help him make connections in the business and decide where he would like to work.

“I’m positioned perfectly to be a link between supportive services, community services and our students as a result of having this blessing of being here in the District,” said Brother Muhammad. “Studies show that students that have mentors in their lives do better as adults.”

At one of the planned MBK events, the “Stand and Deliver” leadership workshop, students will learn how to give TED Talk presentations in business and professional settings. A symposium will be held in February, during Black History Month, where students will hear from guest speakers and politicians. The symposium is also during the Black and Latino Caucus meetings, so students will be exposed to a variety of information, expertise and resources.

Brother Muhammad has plans to utilize his network within the county to bring the young men to basketball games and other fun activities. They are planning a “dress for success” day and symposiums where mentors and MBK alumni hold breakout sessions in various schools in the District.

As MBK begins to visit more schools in the District, Brother Muhammad is looking for like-minded staff to make Mount Vernon an MBK community. The program also has community partners such as the Boys and Girls Club of Mount Vernon, which offered 10 scholarships for students to join the Boys and Girls Club after school program. 

They are planning a fire academy with the Mount Vernon Fire Department to find out which students in the District would consider becoming firefighters and connect them with the MVFD. They will be taught about fire safety and receive training and knowledge about testing to put them on the path to becoming firefighters.

“This energy works in this environment because sometimes students don’t really care how much you know, they just want to know that you care,” said Brother Muhammad. “When they see that, they let some of their guard down.”

The results of the mentoring have been evident, and alumni of the MBK Fellows Program have had great accomplishments, such as establishing their professional network, going to college and receiving scholarships. One of the MBK fellows last year sped through his credit recovery after joining the program and received a diploma from RTA.

The History of My Brother's Keeper in the Mount Vernon City School District

The My Brother’s Keeper Task Force was founded in 2014 following the killing of Trayvon Martin in order to fill in the opportunity gaps for young men of color, so everyone has an opportunity to succeed. New York State was the first state to adopt the My Brother’s Keeper initiative into its budget in 2016, and the Mount Vernon City School District was one of the school districts to receive funding to implement the program. 

The MBK Fellows Program provides opportunities to 12th-grade students to develop leadership skills through experience and mentoring. They also work together to complete service projects. The MBK Fellows visit Albany three times a year, including for the New York State MBK Symposium.

Brother Muhammad started working with MBK in 2018 and established the program in eight MVCSD schools. The program had an impact District-wide, building planters and gardens at several other schools. Brother Muhammad would speak to the students during their visits and bring in guest speakers such as musical artist Wyclef Jean, former boxing champion Roy Jones Jr., artist and actor Peter Gunz, actor Michael Williams, and others including former NFL players. 

In these meetings, they sat in circles and discussed real life problems, the future, the economy and peer pressure they experienced. The adults also offered solutions and advice to the students.

Last year, students learned about advocacy and met with State Senator Shelley Mayer, along with students from the Conference of Big 5 School Districts. They also visited the New York State Education Department and sat down with Dr. Betty Rosa. One of the fellows asked why they need Regent’s Exam when they pass the coursework, and Dr. Rosa promised to conduct a study.

“There's a saying that in order to be something, you must first see something,” said Brother Muhammad. “So, I try with all my might to model the behavior or to be a product of the product that we want to see from our young men of color.” 

The program has allowed students to do work in the community and gain valuable connections. They have gone to symposiums throughout Westchester County and have a comprehensive mentoring program, where mentors from throughout the city have agreed to mentor students.

Last year, MBK visited the NYS legislature and went into the Senate Chambers and Assembly Chambers. Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow was so impressed with the young men last year that he offered them scholarship opportunities. They each got $3000 towards their colleges because of how well they represented Mount Vernon.

Students also got involved in the community through their service project last year, where they composted from January to May with their own materials. This project showed that they could take garbage and give back to and benefit the community. It also had a scientific and educational element, so students could learn from the project. They wanted to attack food insecurity, realizing that their community does not have as much access to fresh food and vegetables that neighboring communities have.

My Brother's Keeper has made an impact on the entire District and the community through its initiatives and activities, and that impact will continue this school year.